The Only Constant
by Bratling
Summary: A season 11 missing scene. Ellie is welcomed into the fold...


The Only Constant...

by LauraBF

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Disclaimer: Not mine. I hugged them, squeezed them, called them George, and then gave them back like a good girl. NCIS belongs to Donald P. Bellisario, Belisaurius Productions, Paramount Pictures, and Columbia Broadcasting Service Entertainment.

Author's Note: I used to write JAG fic, but wandered away when JAG was canceled in 2005 and my NCIS viewing has been sporadic since Kate was killed. But I have been watching the current season, and this little rabid plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. My thanks to to my long-time friend, TnJAGAz and a new friend, GeneaLady for looking this over. This is set current season, after Ziva's departure and the arrival of Ellie Bishop. This could be something of a missing scene.

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"_Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent."_

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Ellie Bishop hiked her bag up her shoulder as she waited for the elevator to arrive. She stepped in as the door opened to find McGee inside. "Tim," she acknowledged quietly. Of all her new teammates, he tended to stay in the background the most. He was quiet and nowhere near as obnoxious as DiNozzo.

"Ellie," he said. He had his backpack dangling from one shoulder, and a to-go cup of coffee in his hand.

"Listen, I want to thank you..." she began.

Tim shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I remember what it was like to be the new guy. And it's always hard, especially when you're like us."

"Like us?" she asked curiously.

Tim reached out and flipped the emergency switch, bringing the elevator to a stop. "Too smart for our own good. I looked you up."

"I looked you up, too," she admitted. In some ways it was true-they both had genius level IQs, both finished school early, both were recruited by MENSA and then went to work in the federal sector, even though they probably could have made much more money in the private sector.

Tim simply nodded. "I expected that," he said. "In some ways, we're like a family here, and I'm much closer to my teammates than I am to my biological family."

"Even Tony?" Ellie asked.

Tim huffed a laugh. "Even Tony," he admitted. "He's grown up some on the past few years. He can be a jerk, especially with his juvenile sense of humor, but he's _our_ jerk. He plays the clown, but he's damned good. I trust Tony and Gibbs to watch my six more than anyone else."

"Is this really like a family?" Ellis asked softly, her hand tightening around the guard rail.

Tim took a long sip of his coffee before replying. "In some ways. Boss cares about all of us, but Tony and Abby are his favorites."

"And you?" Ellie asked softly.

Tin shrugged. "Nothing I'm not used to. Tony's like an annoying older brother. He gives me crap, but he really doesn't mean any harm."

Ellie was nothing if not perceptive. "You don't come from a great family," she said slowly. "Do they know?"

Tim shook his head. "They assumed," he said simply. "Ziva knew more than Gibbs and Tony. We had the bond of having fathers who are, 'very important'." He said the last two words using air quotes. "She was like a sister to me-taught me a lot. It's just easier to let people assume, to be honest. You've probably got the most stable, normal background of any of us."

Ellie frowned and hitched her pack higher to stop its downward descent. "What do you mean?"

Tim sighed. "Boss lost his mother real young and his wife and daughter were murdered. Been married and divorced three times after that. Tony lost his mother early and the best you can describe the rest of his childhood as is benign neglect. He grew up mostly in boarding schools."

"Your father is an Admiral," Ellie said quietly. "Which means he was at sea more than he was home."

Tim nodded. "Go on."

"And your file lists your mother's profession as "nurse", so she was working... and there are also social obligations associated with being an officer's wife..."

"As a nurse," Tim picked up the thread. "Mom could hide the signs better than most, and nothing I've ever done has satisfied the Admiral. Appearances are important to both of them, and in their eyes, my sister can do no wrong. I'm the disappointment."

"Then why do you stay?" Ellie asked with a frown. "If this is like your biological family..."

"Because trust is hard to come by." Tim smiled. "And as tough as they can be to deal with, Gibbs and Tony _will_ help, without question, if I'm in trouble. Besides, I don't want to make a lateral move. Vance transferred me to Cybercrimes for a while, and it just wasn't... the right fit for me. This is where I belong; this is home."

Ellie nodded. "Understandable. I have less training than the rest of you..."

"If you feel the need for extra, I'll be happy to help," Tim offered. "I've gone outside the team for more training often enough over the years."

"Scheduling might be hard," Ellie said hesitantly.

Tim flipped the emergency switch back on and the elevator started back up. "I know," he said quietly. "We both have lives outside NCIS - me with Delilah, and you with your husband. But when extra training means that you go home in one piece instead of in a body bag, it's worth it."

Ellie drew in a deep breath and nodded. "It's different from the NSA," she said.

The elevator dinged, came to a stop, and the door opened. "Much different," Tim stepped out of the elevator. "We're Navy cops," he reminded her. "And as part of the MCRT, we deal with terrorists as well as your run-of-the-mill murderers, drug dealers, and loonies. Much more dangerous, at times, than a desk job at the NSA." With that as his parting shot, he headed to his desk, sat down, and turned his computer on.

Ellie sighed and followed him into the bullpen. It was different, but it was what she wanted. NCIS had been her first choice. Two of her four brothers were Navy-one a JAG stationed in London under Captain Harmon Rabb, and the other was an aviator flying off the Seahawk. This was her chance to protect and help people while serving her country and she was determined not to screw it up. Not to mention the fact that she was attracted to puzzles, and as far as she was concerned, solving crimes would be the biggest challenge of all...

End.


End file.
